Here’s the third video in my using Progecad with StairDesigner series.

StairDesigner does a very good job of calculating and technically drawing the stair and you get all parts and working documents automatically.

But it falls short when it comes to specific design features like turned newel posts, spindles, moulded handrails etc.

Luckly all StairDesigner projects can be exported in DXF and easily reworked in most CADD programs.

I have used Autocad to design stairs for many years now.

Stair design with only Autocad is slow and error prone. It could take me several hours, sometimes days, of drawing to get the working plans for a stair and even then errors went un noticed and were giving us unpleasant surprises when putting the parts together in the workshop.

Over the years I developed some simple Autocad tools to speed up the work but everything remained very cumbersome and SLOW!

When StairDesigner came along everything got faster and easier!

The drafting errors practically disappeared and everything fitted perfectly in the workshop.

Besides the technical side of things StairDesigner’s automatic 3D made a great impression on my customers.

3d was always my big problem.

2D technical design was slow but OK with AutoCad, I just appreciated so much the ease compared to drawing the stair full size on the workshop floor, but when a customer asked for a perspective view my troubles started.

I’m not a great artist and though perspectives of furniture worked OK, stairs turning in all directions were making life hell.

Especially as people don’t pay you for a perspective drawing it’s just for free and takes for ever to set up.

The worst would be someone asking for variations, “and what if we added turned posts and changed the spindles to metal tubes ??”

Back to the drawing board!

Even when AutoCad came along with it’s 3D, building a 3D stair although possible, was a major nightmare  and challenge.

Drawing a 3D stair in Autocad  could bankrupt us before the customer even considered signing a cheque!

StairDesigner made life easier for basic designs but as we made more and more higher end stairs the projects quickly went over StairDesigner’s 3D functions.

So I combined the two.

StairDesigner draws the basic 3D and Autocad or Progecad do the rest.

It still takes a bit of time, but the effort is often well worth it.

A well designed stair shown off to it’s full advantage will often sell much better even though more expensive than a cheaper model.

And it’s so much more fun to design and make!

Here’s how I add turned posts and some extra fittings to a StairDesigner 3D stair.

And then light it up to look classy.

StairDesigner’s DXF export works well with most CAD programs so it’s not limited to using ProgeCad.

Progecad is a great cheap 2D/3D solution that works just like AutoCad for less than 1/10 of the price!

Hope you enjoy.

Leave a comment even if you didn’t!

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Click here to buy StairDesigner ProDXF

Click here to buy Progecad 2011

For more information on using ProgeCad and AutoCad with StairDesigner, take a look at these articles:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/how-to-design-curved-strings-and-handrails-using-stairdesigner-and-progecad-3d

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/how-to-build-a-3d-stair-project-with-stairdesigner-and-progecad

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/editing-a-curved-string-stair-in-autocad

Technorati Tags: autrocad, cadd, drawing stairs, ProgeCad, stair, Stair building, stair calculations, stair design, stair plan, stair software, stari construction

ProgeCad, Using Stair Designer autrocad, cadd, drawing stairs, ProgeCad, stair, Stair building, stair calculations, stair design, stair plan, stair software, stari construction

Here’s an email sent to me by Serge from France.

Serge is a subscriber to my email list and has no previous experience in stair building.

Serge has built himself a stair using only the free software and resources available on this web site.

I was very impressed by the way Serge undertook his project.

I think that everybody can benefit and learn something from his story and experience.

Thanks Serge for sharing this.

Here’s the translation of Serg’s email. The original is published on my French site:

http://www.stairdesigner.org

****************************

Hello Ness,

Excuse me for this long letter, but you can use it as testimonal.

To start, I’d like to thank you for all the help and advice you have given on your site and emails.
6 months ago I went to a well known stair manufacturer in France to order a cheap staircase to enable me to access the first floor of my garage.

This stair was a ¼ turn, with a total height of 3,28 m, at a 95° .

After a long time spent trying to force his industrial software to build a stair that would fit me, the salesman could only offer me a 15 step quart turn with a 90 angle.

This was no good to me at all. So I decided to built it myself.

I am not a professional woodworker, in fact I’m a scientist, but I always liked woodwork.
Browsing the wed for help and information I quickly found your software " Stair Designer " which gave me the answers to my questions.

With help of your documentation and tutorials, I quickly and easily got the hang of using the demo version of " Stair Designer ", and designed a stair that fitted my project.

Nonetheless, having at my disposal the plans of the parts, steps, stringers, posts and spindles walking(marches), silt, posts, and spindles, but without dimensions, I found myself in front of a choice: not being professional I did not want to buy the complete software,

I thought of buying your highly-rated plans (through your StairFile service),

or accept the challenge to reconstruct the plans from the specifications given by the demo version of Stair Designer.

I opted to take up the challenge and draw the plans myself.

I revised my trigonometry and rolled up my sleeves to learn to use, the free version of ProgeCad that is downloadable from your web site.

My rudimentary English allowed me to understand the basics of this professional level CAD software and I managed to draw the plans and use Progecad to get all the part sizes.

I must admit that the stair template models with their free  plans were of great help as references, and enabled me to work and move forward  confidently.

I chose to make the stairs in spruce, using only the minimal tools that I had at hand, a jointer, circular saw, a router and an orbital sander.

I worked part time at my own pace, for 2 months (I’m retired so I do have some free time) and machined up the parts.

Yesterday I went to install and everything fell into place perfectly, just like the drawn model.

For anyone who would like to undertake a similar challenge, I would humbly give the following advice:

- Use StairDesigner to design your project. It’s easy to use and covers most of the different types of stairs that might want to build.

- If you don’t have a good understanding of geometry and maths, and can’t use some sort of CAD software don’t try to draw up the plans by yourself. Use Ness’s StairFile or StairPlan service, it will save you hours of calculations and possibly expensive errors.

- If you don’t have a few good portable tools and some mastery of woodworking, either get someone else to help with the woodwork or subcontract it.

Otherwise go to it!

It is a fantastic experience, that will make you use your muscles and your brain and give you a lot of satisfaction.

To conclude, thanks again to Ness, you can be proud of yourself to have enabled a complete beginner design and build a stair that’s a just a little complicated.

On the other hand it’s a real commercial flop for you, because with your help and tools I have managed to do for free what would have cost me dearly otherwise.

I feel a little guilty of using your advice and support without paying.

So a thousand thanks for continuing to teach freely for our pleasure and profit.

Serge

Thanks to Serge fro this very instructive email.

If you want more information on using the demo version of StairDesigner and Autocad or Progecad read these articles:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/stair-software-to-modify-stair-plans

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/using-autocad-with-a-stair-calculator

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/using-a-stair-template

Technorati Tags: autocad, cadd, ProgeCad, stair, Stair building, stair construction, stairdesigner, stairsoftware

Customers and Users, ProgeCad, Using Stair Designer autocad, cadd, ProgeCad, stair, Stair building, stair construction, stairdesigner, stairsoftware

Some people have been asking me how to build solid curved parts using StairDesigner. To answer I have made a short video that shows how to use StairDesigner DXF files and a 3D solid modeller in Progecad or Autocad to get the block size and face moulds needed to mark out a curved handrail or string.

I find that using a solid modeller is faster less error prone and more accurate that doing everything in 2D whether it be on paper or in CAD.

The method I outline in this video is based on traditional European methods so for English and American carpenters used to the tangent method it may seem a bit obscure. But I also use the 3D solid modeller when I set out tangent handrails and it’s also very handy.

I use the tangent method extensively for setting out wreathed rails, not only moulded solid rails but also rounded and twisted rails as seen in my article on Curves stair parts here:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/different-ways-to-build-curved-stair-parts

I guess that the number of people today looking to build solid wood wreathed rails and strings are few and far between as this craft is today indeed a dying art.

It use to be the very height of a wood worker’s craft to build wreathed rails, this was when men pushed themselves on to excellence simply for the creative pleasure of inventing something new. Surpassing one self and moving forward into unexplored ground was a challenge men undertook for the sake of itself and not only to earn more money, buy a bigger car or look better that the neighbour.

The world has certainly changed quickly these last 30 years and our immense creative abilities have been channelled towards a technical progress that instead of creating a more human world, in my option have, in many cases hindered and destroyed our real creativity and aspiration towards beauty and achievement.

In my everyday work as a stair builder I have always strived to use modern technology as another tool in the workshop.

In any real in life on has to be clear on the goals one’s aiming at.

In craftwork the goal is the creation of a object that has to balance utility, beauty and economy.

Firstly the final object has to serve it’s purpose, then it has to be as perfect in it’s form as possible given the circumstances and last but not least, it has to fit the budget.

Utility and beauty are noble objectives that quickly send our egos rocketing to the sky. Economy is a more humbling objective that should keep us well rooted to the ground.

As with all tools technology is only of value when it’s being used to progress in the right direction.

A tool is only useful when it’s at the service of a higher goal.

I would even say that the man holding the tool is only useful when he himself is a tool working towards a higher goal.

Maybe the higher goal for a craftsman is his craft. The goal of building the object that assembles together in harmony for this one and unique time the three objectives of utility, beauty and economy.

Using technology, that has a beauty in itself of course, I try not to forget my goal, and strive to find the balance between utility, beauty and economy.

Here’s a video where I show grossly how I use high tech CAD to simplify the design process of solid wreathed handrails.

The techniques I use here are based on traditional European techniques that have been around unchanged for hundreds of years.

I also use CAD in a similar way to set out handrails using the English tangent system.

CAD has the great advantage of minimizing the economical aspect by making the design faster, smoother and more efficient.

Hope you enjoy the marriage of modern and tradition.

I use StairDesigner to adjust the flow of the curved parts so that everything fits nicely together.

To see how I adjust the curves please read this article here:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/stair-design-for-curved-strings-and-landings

If you have found this article interesting or maybe not , please leave a comment and let me know

Technorati Tags: curved, handrails, stair construction, stair design, stairbuilding, stairs, strings, wreathed

ProgeCad, Using Stair Designer curved, handrails, stair construction, stair design, stairbuilding, stairs, strings, wreathed

This is a short video to show how I use the StairDesigner DXF export functions to use Progecad or Autocad to build a complete 3D project with the rendering tools supplied in Progecad 2010/11.

Now most people will not require 3D modelling and rendering 3D to get their stair built. For general stair building, StairDesigner and a free 2D CADD system will work very well.

The advantages of stair building using a 3D system are felt in several situations :

- When one has to assemble several stairs or stairs and landing for presentation purposes. Complete stair wells can be built quickly and given a realistic look for customer approval.

- When working on solid or curved or wreathed strings and hand rails. 3D is very useful for setting out the face moulds. These elements can be calculated directly from a 3D model without any 2D manipulation.

Here’s a short video showing how to build a rendered image of a stair with it’s landing in 3D.

To see how I use StairDesigner to build a landing or mezzanine you can look at this video:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/building-mezzanine-and-platforms-with-stairdesigner

With a bit of preparation the whole process can be generally done in under an hour.

Hope you like it:

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Buy STAIRDESIGNER before 31^st January 2012 and

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Technorati Tags: 3d, cadd, design, ProgeCad, rendering, stairdesigner, wood design

ProgeCad, Using Stair Designer 3d, cadd, design, ProgeCad, rendering, stairdesigner, wood design

Here’s a short video to show you the current jobs in the workshop.

There’s a curved stair ready for installation and some blanks of a wreathed rail ready to be cleaned up and veenered.

Hope this is of interest to you.

If you have liked this site and video, to help me continue posting free useful articles,
please vote for me using this link:

<click here to vote for my sites>

Just click on the +1 button besides my sites:

www.stairdesigner.org and
www.ntdesigns.org

Thanks to everyone for your support!!

Using Stair Designer

How to use StairDesigner to build a platform and horizontal railing

Several people have asked me how to draw platforms and mezzanines with StairDesigner.

In reality StairDesigner is not really made to draw these parts and only calculates and draws the stairs, but with a little twist you can turn StairDesigner into a very useful tool for building a platform or mezzanine of any shape. The idea is simply that you build a stair with zero height. In this case StairDesigner flattens the stair down to a platform and adds the horizontal railing with all the parameters that you can give to a stair.

Of course StairDesigner doesn’t draw the beams and joists but you do get all the railings spindles, posts etc. drawn up and listed in the cutting lists. The drawing can be exported in 2D and 3D DXF to be loaded into Autocad or Progecad for detailing and 2D presentations.

Here’s a video that shows how to do this.

Once you have built the stairs and the platforms separately you can assemble them in Autocad or Progecad to make the working plans or build really nice 3D presentations.

I’ll be making a short video to show how easy this is in the near future.

Don’t forget that you can download your free version of Progecad 2D from the “Free Download” page of this web site.

The full 3D version 2010 has the same functions as Autocad for 299 euros, that’s less than 1/10th of the price of a full Autocad. You can buy   full version using the “ BUY PROGECAD FULL 3D VERSION” PayPal button on the “Free Download” page.

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, build a mezzanine, build a platform, how to make a stair, Mezzaine, platform, Stair building, stair construction, stairdesigner

Using Stair Designer Add new tag, build a mezzanine, build a platform, how to make a stair, Mezzaine, platform, Stair building, stair construction, stairdesigner

This article follows the article “Stair Design for curved strings and landings” and shows how to use the Stair Designer 2D DXF file in AutoCAD to modify the original design and draw the shape of the curved former and laminates used to make the curved strings and handrails.

To build the curved strings and handrails for this stair I have used a laminated technique where I press a packet of thin laminates onto a form or mould that gives the final curved shape.

I had the choice of using either this traditional laminate construction or my own horizontal laminated construction that I use for central cut strings that doesn’t require the building of a form. Both techniques are suitable for building this stair but due to high number of curved parts (a total of 16) in this project, I opted for building a form and using vertical laminates.

To make a 51mm thick string and handrail, this technique requires the building of a form and uses packets of 7 layers of 7mm bendable plywood with 2 outer layers of 2mm oak veneers.

Here’s a photo of the pack of laminates ready for gluing  and placing on the form.

Pack of laminates ready to be placed on form

The form is  built with 30mm ply shapes and 60×50mm pin framing. 8mm bolts are used to pull down the packet of laminates onto the form.

Here we see a part of the handrail being pressed into shape.

Form for laminating stringers

The curved string will be jointed using bolted croched joints.

Here’s a photo of the finished string standing in the workshop :

Here’s a photo of the bolted joints assembled on the back side of the string:

Croch joint bolted on the back side of the stringer

Once the laminates are drawn in Autocad I print out each section full size and use the prints as templates to rough cut and mark out the strings:

shape of the laminates in Autocad

Here’s a photo of the string coming off the form ready to be marked up with the full size template:

String with template

And a photo of the curve part with the joints and edges finished ready for veneering:

Curved string with croch joints

Here’ s a short video showing how I edit the Stairdesigner DXF file to get the exact shape of the form and laminates:

Building laminated curved stairs, Using Stair Designer

Quite a few people have been asking me about how to use StairDesigner for building curved stairs. This is a complicated question as there are many ways of building curved parts and although StairDesigner is a great help for most it will not do all the work for any one method.

But in general StairDesigner is really a great tool for setting out the curves and verifying that the general shape of the stairs flows and is harmonious.

I myself use up  to 5 different methods all with their different advantages and draw backs so making them more or less useful for different situations.

I give an over view of several methods on my web site : www.ntdesigns.org.

To give a better idea of how to use StairDesigner  for designing curved stairs this is the first  article to show how a curved stair can be set out and  built using StairDesigner and laminated strings and handrails.

The stair we are building are in fact 2 separate stairs that make up a stair well giving access to 4 levels. The stairs require several landings that will be opened to give access to the intermediate floors.

This project is a complex project that requires an initial study using AutoCAD to get the correct alignment of the different flights and accurately position the landing heights.

The AutoCAD study is in fact an accurate drawing of the existing stair well, built from the on site measurements and a rough positioning of  the first and last steps.

Here’s a screen capture of the initial AutoCAD study:

The plan view gives me the exact dimensions of the stair well and where I want the stairs to start and finish:

plan outline of the stair well

The section of the stair well gives me the exact heights of each landing :

Autocad section of the stair well

As you can see from the section the stairs will climb to give access to 4 levels.

I decide to build the stair way as 2 separate stairs, the first from level 0 to level 2 and the second from level 2 to 4. Each stair will have an intermediate landing giving access to levels 1 and 3.

Once I have the exact sizes of the stair well I use StairDesigner to model the stairs and adjust the landings, and winders so that the strings and handrails flow nicely from one flight to the next making smooth transitions in the curves.

Here’s a quick video that runs through the design process:

Building laminated curved stairs, Using Stair Designer

Zoran from Belgium has asked how to draw the strings outside the stair well.

To draw  the strings outside the well  click on “String board param” in the StairWell Param tool box:

stair wel parameters tb

StairDesigner will show the String board parameters tool box.

Just tick the option “Stringboards in Stairwell” or “Stringboards off (outside) Stairwell.

stringers outside stair well tb

and that’s it.

Hope that this has been usefull.

Using Stair Designer

This is a quick video that shows how to download and modify a stair model template and edit it to fit your stair dimensions.

Your can read the step by step instructions and download a PDF file on my last post at:

http://stairdesignsoftware.net/using-a-stair-template

My next video will show how to use a new very cool TRIANGULATION tool to  fit a stair into a non square stair well while still keeping the inside strings square.

Technorati Tags: Add new tag, DIY stair plans, drawing stairs, plans for stairs, plans to build stairs, stair cad, stair software, stairs plans

Using Stair Designer Add new tag, DIY stair plans, drawing stairs, plans for stairs, plans to build stairs, stair cad, stair software, stairs plans